In brief
In a sweeping anti‑corruption operation, the U.S. Department of Justice has detained Álvaro Pulido—long accused of siphoning funds from Venezuela’s welfare system and laundering over $2bn through U.S. accounts. Pulido, a former Venezuelan contract guru, had been jailed in Caracas since March 2023. The DEA and State Department had offered a $10m reward for his arrest. Pulido is linked to former minister Alex Saab, who pleaded guilty in a related case. He faces two federal indictments and will appear in court Tuesday.
U.S. officials have detained 62‑year‑old Álvaro Pulido, a Colombian entrepreneur who allegedly siphoned billions from Venezuela’s state‑run welfare system and laundered the proceeds through U.S. bank accounts. The Home‑Security Task Force operation last week brought Pulido into federal custody, a move that follows a long‑running U.S. investigation into corruption at the heart of Venezuela’s economy.
Pulido has been imprisoned in Caracas since March 2023, accused of diverting profits from the oil company PDVSA and of embezzling the government’s contracts for food and medicine for the poor. He faces two federal indictments that charge him with laundering more than $2.0bn—about $1.5bn in U.S. currency—through offshore accounts. His arrest coincided with Alex Saab’s guilty plea in a $195m laundering scheme, underscoring a broader crackdown on Venezuelan officials and allies.
The DEA and State Department had previously offered a $10m reward for information leading to Pulido’s arrest. He is due before a U.S. judge on Tuesday, where prosecutors will present the evidence that links him, and four co‑defendants, to bribery and embezzlement schemes. If convicted, Pulido could face decades in federal prison.
